On September
9, Ales Masiuk, member of the Slonim office of the Belarusian Christian Democracy,
submitted to the local executive committee a bid asking for permission to stage
on September 29 a rally in the town park to protest against the harassment of
the Hazeta Slonimskaya independent weekly, as well as to demand free exercise
of the right to subscribe to the independent newspaper in the offices of the
state-owned subscription system.

On September
25, the activist received a reply signed by the Slonim district executive
committee’s chairman Iosif Pauliukevich, saying that the picket could not be
held, as the location would be occupied by a “traditional cross-quiz Know your Land” arranged by the
pro-government Belarusian Republican Youth Union.

Earlier,
local authorities banned a number of other street protests by pro-democratic
activists. The bans referred to previous engagements. As a result, as soon as
the activists wish to hold a rally, the date appears to be occupied by an event
organized by the authorities.